Contributions of the elderly hailed by Human Services Minister

The contributions of the elderly are being celebrated according to Human Services and Social
Security, Vindhya Persaud who told this to residents of the Palms Geriatric home on Friday. The
home hosted its annual church service in commemoration of ‘month of the elderly’ under the
theme “Digital equity for all ages”. The Month of the elderly is celebrated in October each year
to honour the many contributions made by the elderly.
“We celebrate your contributions; we celebrate life and we celebrate everything that you
continue to do to inspire us and inspire our world… We’re incredibly, incredibly proud of what
you would have done for our country, for our home, for our family, for communities,” Minister
Persaud said.

Dr Persaud stressed that it is the job of the ministry and the Palms Geriatric Home to ensure
residents are comfortable and in good health. She said that its also important that they are able to
enjoy the amenities made available to them.  She noted that as a result of the pandemic causing
so much havoc in the world, she suggested to having electronic tablets available for the residents.
“Maybe it would be a good activity to have tablets here at the Palms, to get you trained on how
to use the tablets so that you can connect to the rest of the world… So, I want to propose this, I
want to challenge the director to let us have someone come into the Palms and teach you hope to
use those tablets, so that you can travel to various parts of the world virtually. You can connect
with whoever it is you want to connect but you can move with the technology of the time and
enjoy everything that life has to offer you,” the Human Services and Social Security minister
said.
Minister Persaud handed out tokens of appreciation to 106-year-old Ms. Zhorie Dematos and
105-year-old Ms. January; the two oldest residents of the facility.  Meanwhile, Mr. Aggrey
Azore, who is a retired probation and social services officer said that the facility caters to the
overall development of the residents. “We are catering for their total development, their physical
development, which also includes their medical care, their nutrition, so we can enhance their
well-being, their mental, emotional and social well-being and of course I would hasten to say
that we are offering them psychological support,”Azore reiterated.
The Palms Geriatric home ushered in the Month of the Elderly as the church service featured
prayer, songs, poems and dance, with some items being performed by the residents.